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Ligue 1 Preview: PSG v Toulouse

Paris Saint-Germain welcome Toulouse to the Parc des Princes knowing that they can go top of the Ligue 1 table with a win.

Published

26 September 2013

The defending champions have yet to lose so far this season, although they produced a below-par display in a slender 1-0 victory at Valenciennes on Wednesday, Edinson Cavani scoring his third goal for the club since joining from Napoli.

That victory made it 18 games without defeat for PSG in Ligue 1, a run that stretches back to the beginning of March, but they will need to be in good form to maintain that streak against a Toulouse outfit that has experienced a recent upturn in fortunes.

The capital club can overtake Monaco - who travel to Reims on Sunday - with a victory, and they will need no further incentive ahead of the visit of Alain Casanova's men.

Captain Thiago Silva (thigh) is manager Laurent Blanc's main absentee, but there is concern over the fitness of fellow defender Alex, who has also struggled with a thigh injury in the past few weeks and was brought off at half-time against Valenciennes.

Blanc rotated his squad for the game at the Stade du Hainaut, which came just three days after their draw with Monaco, and with Benfica travelling to the Parc des Princes for a UEFA Champions League clash on Wednesday, the former France manager will need to use his squad intelligently.

PSG have an excellent record against Toulouse in recent years, winning the last eight meetings in all competitions between the two sides.

Still, Toulouse have turned their fortunes around in their last two games, coming from behind to win 2-1 at Saint-Etienne, before beating Lorient 1-0 on Wednesday.

Toulouse's last win over PSG came in 2009, when they triumphed 1-0 at the Stade Municipal.

They will bid to end that drought without the services of striker Eden Ben Basat (hamstring), defender Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro (muscle strain) and midfielder Mihai Roman (Achilles).

Still, Casanova has been boosted by the form of Danish forward Martin Braithwaite, who has scored in each of their last two games.